48 ENTOMOI.OGICAL NEWS. [Feb.,'19 



Dr. Walker (Canadian Entomologist, Vol. xlvi, page 93), 

 has maintained that the line of. development of Grylloblatta 

 should be traced back to the Blattids as the nearest living rep- 

 resentative of the ancestors from which the Grylloblattids 

 were derived, while I have contended that although Grvl- 

 loblatta exhibits undoubted affinities with such Blattoid in- 

 sects as the Mantidae (and Isoptera also), the Embiids and 

 Dermaptera more nearly represent the ancestral stock from 

 which the Grylloblattids were descended.* 



(To be continued.) 



A Few Hours on Mt. Washington (Lepid.). 



On July 31, 1918, I ascended Mt. Washington, on the carriage road, 

 to just beyond the five mile post. Below the Half-way House a short 

 distance, the first Argynnis montinus was seen. A little farther on 

 the road they were fairly abundant, one appearing on the wing every 

 few minutes. They settled to feed on the flowers of SoUdago virgaurea 

 Linn., a very pretty little species of goldenrod, and while so occupied, 

 could be caught, if approached carefully. Some specimens settled in 

 the road, but I did not see any on flowers other than the one men- 

 tioned. The specimens were all fresh and in fine condition. Dr. Scud- 

 der gives July 12th as the earliest date of their appearance and the 

 latest as September isth. Some years ago I caught a number of speci- 

 mens on August 20th at the same locality, but they were not in as fine 

 condition. It is likely that they do not appear before the month of 

 July. Their life history is unknown and to elucidate it some days 

 should be spent on the mountain. I caught a number of females of the 

 species, but was not fortunate enough to find one ovipositing. It is not 

 unlikely that the female drops her eggs over the food plant as is the 

 habit in some other species of the genus. The collector would probably 

 always find the species on clear days during the time of its appearance. 

 In the afternoon, when the east side of the mountain was in the 

 shadow, I did not see any of the butterflies. 



Plusia u-aureum Guen. was quite abundant on the goldenrod and in 

 perfect condition. One female of Chionobas scmidca was taken just 

 above the five mile post. This is probably a low altitude for it on the 

 mountain. This particular day was wonderfully clear and the views 

 superb, and it was a great pleasure to have good collecting and an inter- 

 esting tramp up the big hill. — Henry Skinner. 



* Mr. A. N. Caudell has kindly permitted me to make a study of 

 specimens of Zoraptera (whose line of descent branches off near the 

 base of the Isopteron line), and an examination of this material would 

 indicate that the fairly even balance of characters in the Grylloblattids 

 between the superorders Panisoptera and Panplecoptera is made to 

 swing slightly nearer the Zoraptera and other Panisoptera, thus swing- 

 ing the base of the line of development of the Grylloblattids slightly 

 toward the side of the Zoraptera (with the Isoptera and Mantidae), 

 although the Grylloblattids are also very close to the Embiids and 

 Dermaptera. It is very probable that the genitalia of male Gryllo- 

 blattids will be found to resemble those of the Zoraptera remarkably 

 closely. 



